Downshire is a
relatively small English county but like a pocket battleship it packs a lot in,
a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port, the Ancient forests of
Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the
Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, the
beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye can see from the
Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the Downshire Light
infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s, Roespring and Tipton in
the north but our story begins slightly further south equidistant between
Nettlefield and the Oxley’s, in the beautiful village of Heathervale.
When Chris Palmer
moved to Nettlefield from Purplemere following a
very acrimonious divorce he had sworn off women for good.
But he was a relatively good looking man
who was fast approaching his 40th birthday, with a good physique and
short sandy hair, greying at the temples and was possessed of piercing blue
eyes, so he didn’t go unnoticed.
His reason for moving to Nettlefield in
particular, over all the other places he might have chosen either in Downshire
or beyond, was the Heatherlands District Health Centre.
It was a large practise that serviced a large area, covering
Nettlefield itself, Oxley Green, Heathervale, Oxley Ridge and Tipton and Chris
had been fortunate enough to land the job as practice manager and he also found
himself a nice little flat in Nettlefield.
The senior partner, and Chris’s boss, at the Health Centre was Dr Clarisse Lowe, a tall statuesque woman who dressed in tweed, with Chestnut hair, a
voluptuous figure, lovely long legs and a generous frontage, who was in her
mid-forties and was just the kind of woman Chris would have fallen for in his
previous life.
Clarisse had been married to Edward Lowe, who had been an eminent
surgeon in Downshire, he had also been twenty years older when he married her
and he had two children from his first marriage, Josie being the oldest.
The marriage was a happy one but only lasted five years because Edward
died suddenly on the Tipton Twelve Trees Golf course after suffering a heart
attack.
She had been a widow for 10 years when Chris arrived in her life, her
widowhood had left her lonely but also afraid of risking her heart on someone
who might end that loneliness
But apart from the fact that she had vowed not to risk her broken
heart again she also had instigated a policy at the practise forbidding
fraternisation between members of staff, so even if she were so inclined toward
Chris she wouldn’t be disposed to go against her own edict.
But the heart wants what the heart wants which was why two people who
despite their reluctance to expose themselves to love again and who were very
definitely not looking for a relationship, let alone love, found it anyway.
And as a by-product of the loving relationship she scrapped the “No
Fraternizing policy” which meant that the surgical gloves were off in regard to
work place relationships.
As a bi-product of the loving relationship she began with Chris,
Clarisse scrapped the “No Fraternizing policy” which meant that the surgical
gloves were off in regard to work place relationships which was just what the
doctor ordered for a lot of the staff, but for doctors
Tony Dark and Denise Guilford it
made no difference at all because they had been romantically involved for two
years.
The scrapping of the relationship ban should have given them the green
light to come out of the closet but the simple truth was that they rather liked
the closet, they enjoyed the sneaking around.
When they were around other people at the health centre they were cold
and aloof, but in private they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, so
whenever an opportunity to enjoy some intimacy presented itself they grabbed it
with both hands.
And from the first moment when Denise made the decision to seduce Tony
it opened up a whole new world of sensual pleasure, dirty, lustful, naked pleasure.
They both loved the excitement of sneaking around and it made them
very aroused and they had to indulge themselves wherever they could.
Sometimes they did it in his house, occasionally in hers, at times
they met at hotels and from time to time they did it at the surgery and even on
occasion in her car, but never in his as it was far too small.
However as time went on their appetite for spending time together grew
exponentially so at The Heatherlands District Health Centre staff Christmas
Party which was held at The Foothills Hotel in Oxley Ridge, they made a
decision.
They had found it tortuous during the party, not to be able to hold each
other’s hand, as they often did when they were together, or dance together on
the dancefloor.
They had to maintain the cold and aloof stance that typified the
relationship they allowed people to see.
But later that night after he had sneaked into her room they lay
huddled beneath the duvet in the afterglow and hatched a plan for their perfect
Christmas.
Both Denise and Tony were from the southern end of the county, she was
from Abbottsford while he came from Sharpington and they both had family
remaining there, and further more they were expected for Christmas.
However as part of their plan they told their respective families that
they were on call over Christmas, it was a real shame but they had drawn the
short straw so they would have to miss out on the festivities.
They weren’t on call obviously and they were going to have their own
festivities and the location they chose was a cottage in the Hamlet of Oxspike on the edge of The Pepperstock Hills National Park.
The reason that the couple chose that particular getaway destination was
four fold, firstly they would be alone, second there was no chance of seeing
anyone they knew, thirdly the nearest neighbour was half a mile away and lastly
because Oxspike was high up in the crags of the park they often got snow up
there and Denise and Tony wanted a white Christmas to make everything perfect.
The
Pepperstock Hills National Park stretched from the bare, and often barren crags
of Oxley Ridge in the North to the dense wooded southern slopes on the fringe
of the Finchbottom Vale and from Quarry Hill, and the Pits in the West to
Pepperstock Bay in the East.
It is an
area of stark contrasts and attracted a variety of visitors.
The Quarry Hill side of the park to the west, as the name suggests, was
heavily Quarried over several hundred years, though more extensively during the
industrial revolution, the Quarries had been un-worked for over fifty years and
nature had reclaimed them and the former pits had become lakes and were very
popular with anglers and the sparse shrubbery and woodland made it popular spot
with courting couples whereas the
northern crags and fells were popular with climbers and more hardy folk.
Denise and
Tony had booked Pike’s Farm Cottage from the 23rd of December to the
27th, so it was a cold miserable Friday morning when Tony picked
Denise up in a quiet corner of the car park of the Nettlefield branch of
Stephenson Supermarket.
A mixture of
rain and sleet peppered the windscreen as they left the car park and headed
towards their Christmas getaway, half an hour later the rain and sleet had
turned to snow and they were jubilant that they were in for a white Christmas
but by the time they reached Oxley Ridge they were in a blizzard and they were
less euphoric.
The roads
were barely visible in places the higher they climbed and Tony had to drive
very gingerly along the exposed stretches, but after ten minutes they got lucky
when a Land Rover pulled onto the road ahead of them so he got in its tracks
and followed it for the next four miles and then just as they were beginning to
feel comfortable, disaster struck twice in quick succession firstly when the
Land Rover turned off and then seconds later the car heater stopped
working.
So they
pressed on with caution as they were less than four miles from their destination
but as a result two of those miles took almost an hour to cover.
But when
they were within striking distance of the cottage Tony got a bit cocky and lost
control on the final bend and spun the car and went arse end first into a snow
bank.
He tried to
drive out of it but to no avail and resigned himself to the fact that they
would have to walk the last half a mile.
“it looks
like we’re walking from here” he said and got out of the car and the wind cut
through his thin clothing like it wasn’t there but he quickly got his coat on
and went to the back of the car where he found the boot staved in and he was
unable to open it.
“Shit” he
said and had to go in the back of the car to put the seats down to retrieve the
luggage.
He tried to
drive out of it but to no avail and resigned himself to the fact that they
would have to walk the last half a mile.
“it looks
like we’re walking from here” he said and got out of the car and the wind cut
through his thin clothing like it wasn’t there but he quickly got his coat on
and went to the back of the car where he found the boot staved in and he was
unable to open it.
“Shit” he
said and had to go in the back of the car to put the seats down to retrieve the
luggage.
Once he had
the bags out he noticed that Denise was still sat in the passenger seat.
He was about
to point out to her that he was freezing his nuts off when he noticed she was
crying.
“Hey, what’s
wrong?” he asked gently and sat in the driver’s seat so he could hug her.
“I don’t know what I
would do if I lost you” she said between sobs
“Well I’m not planning on going anywhere” Tony said “Apart from somewhere
warm, and I’m planning on taking you with me”
“But what if
you’d been killed? How would I live without you in my life?” she asked and
cried again
After he had
reassured her that he was never going to leave her they gathered their bags
together and made the short but nonetheless difficult walk to Pike’s Farm
Cottage.
They were
very cold by the time they got there but Tony had to just drop his bags and
immediately do a return trip to get the rest of the bags.
“Be careful”
Denise said and held him very tightly
“I’ll be
fine honey” he said “put the kettle on and I’ll be back before it’s boiled”
It was half
an hour before he returned and not only had she boiled the kettle but she had
lit the wood burner, had the water heater working as well as having some tinned
soup warming on the hob.
“Thank God”
she exclaimed and hugged him “I was beginning to get worried”
The reason
for her concern was that the wind had strengthened while he was gone and walking
in thick snow while being battered by a howling wind meant that he made slow
progress.
“Are you
ok?” she asked
“Ccccold” He
said through chattering teeth
“Come on”
she ordered “we need to warm you up”
The cottage
wasn’t much warmer than it was when they first arrived but the wood burner was
giving off some significant warmth so she steered him over to that and left him
there while she checked on the status of the hot water.
She went
into the kitchen and the indicator light on the water heater told her they had
a full tank, so she took the soup off the hob, and then went to the bathroom and
turned on the taps.
When she
returned to the little sitting room he was still stood in front of the fire and
he had steam rising from his legs and he was still shivering.
“Ok let’s
go” she said and took him from the sitting room, through the hall and upstairs
to the bathroom.
Once inside
the steamy bathroom she turned towards him and said
“Right, get
those wet clothes off”
He tried to
comply but he couldn’t feel his fingers as he struggled with the buttons.
So Denise
had to undress him, normally a rather enjoyable activity, but this time it was
rather less so.
“What on
earth were you thinking?” she barked as she undid his shirt “you silly man”
He didn’t
respond, as the chattering of his teeth appeared to be worsening.
“You could
have died out there,” she continued pulling down his trousers and pants
“You could
have died” she repeated and smacked his bare bum cheek
“Ok get in”
But he
didn’t do as she instructed.
“What’s
wrong?” she asked
“Yyyyou
tttoooo” he stuttered
“Ok” she
said “you get in and I’ll get the towels”
“How are you
feeling now?” she asked as they both lay in the foamy water
“Much better”
he replied
“Good” she
said “Because I’m not ready to live without you”
“There’s no
chance of that” he said and kissed her neck
“I think
it’s time to get out now” she said and stood up, then she stepped out of the
bath and wrapped towels around herself
“Let’s get
you on your feet” she said and reached down
“It’s ok I
can manage” Tony said and stood up but Denise was on hand to help him if he
needed it and when he was out she immediately festooned him with towels.
She was very
attentive to him and when she had finished patting him dry he sat down on the
toilet and pulled her onto his lap.
It was about
8 pm and Denise was sitting on Tony’s lap wrapped in bath sheets and his arms
when she said.
“We need to
get moving before you get cold again”
“Do we have
to move?” he whined, “I’m cosy”
“Yes” she
said curtly “we need to eat something hot and then we can get cosy in bed”
Tony and
Denise quickly got dressed and went downstairs and ate the soup she had
prepared and then they went upstairs to bed but barely a word passed between
them as they got themselves ready and got beneath the duvet.
“You’re very
quiet” she observed as the cuddled up
“That’s
because I’m thinking” he replied
“What are
you thinking about?” she asked with foreboding, had she overdone the concern? Had
she mothered him or smothered him.
“I was just
thinking how lucky I am that my Christmas wish has been granted”
“What
Christmas wish?”
“I wished
that there was more to our relationship than just sex” he replied “and today I
found out that there was”
Denise
gasped when he said the words and then asked
“Do you mean
it?”
“Yes” he
replied
“That’s what
I wished for too” she said
“I love you
Dr Guilford”
“And I love
you” Denise said
